A Different History
by Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416
Summary: What if Nick had a twin sister? What if that twin was part of Max's flock? What if she knew who her parents before Udonna revealed her parentage to the others? How would the Mystic Force play out? How does the Mystic Force react when she returns to Briarwood?
1. Prologue

_A Different History_

_Firefly's POV_

I sat up and glared at Jeb. There I was, chained by my left ankle to the wall in the dungeon in a giant honking castle in Germany! I was not happy. Half of my family—Max, Nudge, Angel, and Total—along with the reformed Ari were with me here. Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy—the other half—were all on their way to help save us and save the world. I demanded, "What about me? Who are my parents?"

Jeb took a deep breath and said, "Your parents are Udonna and Leanbow of Briarwood."

I rolled my eyes and said, "If you're lying, I promise you this—you will _never_ see the light of day again."

I nodded and Jeb said, "I'm not lying." He knew full well that I _always_ kept my promises.

I nodded, and then Ari died in Max's arms during the riot.

I flew to her side and held off as many of the Flyboys as I could.

After Max saved the Director, I walked over to her, and demanded, "Who are my parents?"

She shrugged and I threatened, "Tell me or I _will_ kill you!"

She nodded and said, "Udonna and Leanbow."

I nodded and Max, Nudge, Angel, Total, and I all went to Paris and then back to the U.S. where we reunited with the guys.

As Max hugged Fang, I muttered, "You like each other, now hurry up and date each other, Max and Fang."

They glared at me and I took off running to Dr. Martinez's house.

Max agreed to let me go to Briarwood, on the condition that I stayed with the Flock long enough to attend Ari's funeral. I agreed.

After Ari's funeral, I left and headed for Briarwood.


	2. Meeting And Becoming A Ranger

After I arrived in Briarwood, I was attacked by some weird foot soldier thingies and I immediately launched into battle mode. Five other people arrived—it took me about three seconds to figure out that they were the Power Rangers—and the blue one yelled, "Get out of here, kid!"

"No way!" I yelled back.

The leader of the attack, who looked like a vampire, lunged at me. I growled and jumped into the air. "Catch me if you can!" I challenged.

The Queen of the Vampires chased me for several minutes at Boeing 747 height. Then I landed and was again surrounded. "I believe in magic," I called and the soldiers surrounding me disintegrated.

The others joined me and I swiftly morphed into my ranger form. "Pure as light. Purple Mystic Ranger," I declared.

Necrolai—that was the vampire's name—growled and fled after we beat her.

We all demorphed and the leader said, "Come on."

I followed them to Rootcore, silently.

I asked, "Who are you guys?"

The leader turned and said, "I'm Nick Russell."

"Xander Bly at your service, ma'am," the green ranger said.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Stick with your own species, Xander."

The others all snickered as I completely rejected the green ranger.

"Chip Thorn," the yellow ranger said.

"Madison Rocca," the blue ranger said.

"Vida Rocca," the pink ranger said.

The leader added, "Our mentors are Udonna and Daggeron."

"Rangers, who is this?" Udonna asked.

"I'm Maelynne," I blurted out, immediately. "Maelynne Martinez Ride."

She nodded and whispered, "So, now are there six of you."

Daggeron entered and I asked, "So, when does my training begin?"

He grinned and said, "How about right now?"

I nodded in agreement and began my training.


	3. Meeting Koragg

Later, I went into town and Nick said, "Come on. I think we can help you get a job here."

"As long as it doesn't require too much education," I muttered.

Nick raised his eyebrows and I explained, "I haven't had much schooling. I'm incredibly smart, but have had little to no education."

The others nodded and I soon started working at the Rock Porium.

Every time, someone attacked, all six of us raced to the battle site.

Then the Wolf Knight—Koragg—attacked about a week after I'd arrived.

I glared at him when he forced everyone else—except for me and Nick—to demorph.

I leapt into the air and grabbed my magi staff and blasted him with a spell. "A sixth ranger?" he asked.

"You are very powerful, Purple Witch," he mused before he teleported himself back to the Underworld.

Nick and I demorphed and ran over to make sure the others were OK.

Then I said, "We better tell Udonna and Daggeron what happened."

Nick nodded in agreement.

I blinked suddenly and said, "Guys, go on ahead. I'll catch up."

Nick raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure?"

I nodded and then I thought, _All clear, Flock. Come on. You can land._

The others—the Flock—landed and Nudge asked, "Did you find them? Did you find your parents yet? Can we meet them? What are they like? Do you think they'll like us? Are they as nice as Dr. Martinez?"

I groaned and silently cast the muting spell. Everyone stared as Nudge's mouth continued moving, but no sound came out. "Finally, she's quiet!" Iggy said, grinning.

I laughed and said, "No. No. Not sure yet. Don't know yet. Depends on what they're like. Couldn't tell you 'cause I haven't met them yet."

They nodded and I reversed the muting spell. Then Max clamped her hand over Nudge's mouth and I said, "Look. I can't come back—_yet_. But I will do my best to help you save the world, Max. And I don't want to put you in danger. You have to leave town—soon. It's dangerous here and if anything happens to you, we're dead."

Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Total all nodded in agreement—we had to protect Max—at all costs.

Max nodded and the others left town later that afternoon.

I returned to Rootcore and Madison asked, "Who were those kids?"

"Friends," I muttered. "Just wanted to keep them out of the danger zone."

She nodded in agreement.

The others decided not to press me for more information.


	4. My New Life

Two weeks after I met Koragg, Daggeron was gathering herbs or something for Udonna when both Imperious and Koragg attacked him. As soon as we learned that Daggeron was in trouble, we all ran to help and while Madison, Xander, Chip, Vida and I battled Koragg, Nick helped Daggeron fight Imperious.

The two warriors—Imperious and Koragg—left and Daggeron murmured, "Next time, Clare can get the herbs for Udonna."

We all laughed and returned to the Rock Porium, where we finished up the mural and the paint war.

Basically, we all ganged up on Xander after he claimed he had supervised us and that the final design of the mural had been his idea.

My life began to follow a simple pattern—wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, fight some evil, eat lunch, go to Rootcore, train, practice my magic, return to work, go home, eat dinner, and go to bed.

The others seemed to know I was hiding something, but I wasn't sure if I could trust them—yet.


	5. Some History

A few weeks later, we all watched Chip training with Daggeron. Apparently, Chip was training to become a knight.

Daggeron commented, "Chip is doing very well in his training. Soon he'll be as good as me."

"Maybe I'll even be as good as Leanbow," Chip blurted out, unthinkingly.

Everyone froze.

Daggeron opened his mouth and Udonna shook her head. "No, Daggeron. The rangers need to learn the whole story," she said calmly.

We all went out to the balcony and Udonna and Daggeron explained the history of the Great Battle to us.

"As you know, nineteen years ago, there was a war between the forces of the darkness and the forces of the light, known as the Great Battle. Led by my husband, Leanbow, the five other mystic warriors fought fiercely against the darkness. At the time, Leanbow and I had two children—a son and a daughter. Our son's name was Bowen. Our daughter's name was Leila. In order to protect them, we knew we had to send them away. During the very last battle when Niella sealed the gate, trapping Leanbow, and the Master, inside, I gave my son to Daggeron to take Bowen to safety and my daughter to another one of the warriors so they could get Leila to safety. Both Daggeron and the other warrior were instructed to ensure that the two remained separated until it was truly safe for them to reunited with me."

Daggeron then continued the story. "I was attacked by Calindor. We thought he was our friend. He had come to us saying he could help us. We believed him, but learned that we were wrong. We now know that Phineas found baby Bowen and got him safely into the human world. Leila, on the other hand, no one knows what happened to her."

We all nodded and Nick asked, "But what happened to Bowen and Leila?"

"We don't know. We do know that until the darkness is completely defeated and the Master is destroyed, we can never search for either of them," Udonna said, sadly.


	6. Telling The Others The Truth

A few hours later, we were all at the Rock Porium working and while everyone else was laughing and chitchatting—trying to fool Toby—our boss and friend—into thinking everything was fine, I was silent and thoughtful.

Nick glanced at me and asked, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head and said, "Not here."

He nodded and then we had to go to Rootcore to do some training and Udonna and Daggeron both noticed that I was acting differently.

She shook her head at Daggeron and then walked over to me. "Maelynne, what's wrong?" She asked, carefully, watching my face.

"I'm tired of lying," I admitted.

"Lying? What are you talking about?" Nick demanded.

"I _can_ trust you," I murmured in a soft voice. "It's a long story."

The others looked at each other and we soon found ourselves back on the balcony again—this time to hear my story.

"Let me start by saying that my life has been _far_ from pleasant," I started, shaking violently. "My name isn't really Maelynne Martinez Ride—it's actually Firefly. I named myself. Martinez—really is one of my best friends—Maximum—Max—Ride's—mother's—Dr. Valencia Martinez's last name. And Ride is Max's last name—like I just said. Maelynne was actually the fake name I used when I was living with someone I thought I _could _trust—Anne Walker. It turned out that she'd been working for the School the whole time. My name actually is based off the number they had given me at the School—6-9-18-5-6-12-25—with the 6 being the F, the 9 being the I, the 18 being the R, the 5 being the E, the 6 being the F, the 12 being the L, and the 25 being the Y. Everyone else's—Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman—we call him Gazzy or Gasser—and Angel—names were all based on their names, with the exception of the Gasman. Let's just say he has a digestive problem and you _don't_ want to be next to him. Anyway, we all met at the same place—the School. We _are_ some of the only survivors—as far as I know. Most of the "experiments" were nonviable—or died with the first week or days or few hours after the DNA was combined. The seven of us—Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and I—all called ourselves "the flock." We all are part bird—ninety-eight percent human and two percent bird—why I told you to stick with your own species Xander—that two percent makes a big difference in who I am—what I'm like. The thing is—we each spent anywhere from two to fifteen years there, when we rescued by _Jeb Batchelder_, leaving his _son_, Ari behind."

Chip, noticing I'd growled as I said, _"Jeb Batchelder_," asked, "Is he your enemy or something?"

"Yes," I answered automatically. Then I froze and said, "I mean, no. I mean I don't know."

"He might be—he's more like—our bad-guy-turned-good-turned-bad-again-turned-I-don't-know-what-lately," I finally decided.

Udonna's lips tightened and she asked, "Why were you so reluctant to trust us?"

"Jeb said I couldn't trust anyone—outside of the flock—he kept us isolated—locked in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Colorado," I explained.

I then resumed my story. "The next four years were fairly pleasant, minus Jeb's "death" until Angel's kidnapping. Since then it's been—find our parents, save the world, find our parents save the world—for the past few months and nonstop running. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of being scared all the time. When we rescued Angel, we learned Jeb was—maybe even _had been_—working for the School. It hurt all of us—we'd all thought of him as our fake father—but it hurt Max most of all—because she _is_ his daughter and he betrayed her—to her—our enemies—the whitecoats. We did go to Europe at one point—to save the world from Itex—every branch of Itex—will eventually be shut by the other members of the flock. While we were running—we went first to New York City—where Angel convinced Fang to let her get a dog—that also talks. Anyway, we've already shut down the main headquarters. Now it's just all the branching offices."

The others nodded and Nick asked, "I know the wings help you fly, but any other special abilities?"

"Yes," I answered, in his voice.

Nick's eyes widened and Udonna stared stunned. "Most of the abilities we have are unique to each member of the flock," I explained. "Besides the Gasman, I am the only who can do mimicry—however he uses it more for mischief and I use it to imitate Max she's gone to make sure the others behave. I also can absorb and use the others' powers—for limited amounts of time," I explained.

Everyone nodded and I turned to the other rangers. "In town, I need you guys to continue calling me Maelynne, but when we're here at Rootcore—in the magic realm—you _can_ call me Firefly," I finished.

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Alright, Firefly—if that's what you want," Udonna answered.

I nodded and answered, "It is."

Nick asked, "What happened to Ari?"

I took a deep breath and said, "He died. Max accidentally killed him in New York City and then he died in Max's arms during the huge riot at the Itex headquarters that Angel—she is a creepy little mindreading/mind-controlling kid—started. He was seven-years-old—three when they Eraserified him—Erasers were these wolf-men hybrids intent on killing me and the rest of the flock. They saw as prey smart enough to be a fun challenge. Which might be true—like I've told Nick—I _am_ incredibly smart, but I haven't had much schooling. The last school I was at—yeah, the headhunter was evil. He tried to get rid of me on the first day of school. OK, so maybe I did set off a stink in the girls' bathroom—but it's a bathroom—it's supposed to stink. He didn't stand a chance. His death really hurt Max—both brother and sister suffered the same betrayal by their father. And his death—his sacrifice—won't be forgotten—not as long as Max, Nudge, Total, Angel, and I all still live. He died trying to do what was right and I _won't_ forget that."

The others nodded silently.


	7. Captured!

A few weeks after I'd told the others the truth, Koragg again attacked us.

The others all went into Legend Warrior Mode—I didn't think I had that power, so I remained in normal Ranger mode.

As we fought, Imperious and some freaky monster thing—the Chimera—arrived and ordered that we be sent to the Underworld.

As soon as we landed, I sprang to my feet and Imperious greeted us, "Welcome Rangers. Welcome to my humble home. Had I known I'd be expecting company I would have cleaned up."

I glared at him and demanded, "What? No duct tape and black body bags?"

"Years of being kidnapped repeatedly," I muttered—just barely loud enough for the other Rangers to hear.

Some of the Hidiacs and Styxoids attacked us and we fought back.

When Imperious paralyzed us—I kept trying to struggle and free myself. I glared daggers at him.

We were all strapped to some rock-like shackles that held us tightly as the others' Legend Warrior powers were taken from them and I lost my morphing powers. I held back my tears—it did hurt a lot and I reminded myself of what Jeb had taught me—_Pain is merely a message. You can ignore the message._ I would hold all calls until we were free. The others screamed in pain and I clenched my jaw, holding all my screams in. Imperious looked impressed at my tight face and asked, "How can you not scream in pain?"

I growled, "Pain is merely a message. You can ignore the message."

Imperious rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah right."

I glared at him and clenched my jaw tighter, desperately trying to come up with a plan.


	8. Leave Her Alone!

Meanwhile, Udonna began to get worried about us. "The Rangers have been gone too long," she murmured to Clare.

Daggeron had supposedly been killed by Imperious.

Clare nodded in agreement and the two looked in the crystal ball, discovering we were all in the Underworld.

Udonna began searching for a spell to rescue us. Then she realized the only way to rescue us was to use a spell from the Book of Dark Magic.

Clare protested and said, "Udonna, if you use a spell from that book, you'll lose your magic."

Udonna glared up at Clare and said, "I know. Now are you going to help me or not?"

Clare nodded and Udonna arrived in the Underworld and waved her wand at us—allowing us to pull back from the Master, who had been absorbing some of our powers.

She turned and glared at Imperious.

The Master was infuriated and began torturing her. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and, as she writhed in agony, I twisted violently against the bonds holding me in place. "Now you struggle?" Necrolai asked.

I glared at her and pulled against the bonds again.

Then Koragg looked at Udonna and broke the lightning bolt torturing her and she flopped weakly on the floor.

She rolled weakly onto her side and we all stared at the unfamiliar warrior.

"Who is that?" Xander asked.

Imperious scowled and said, "It can't be."

Udonna stared stunned up at the warrior. "Leanbow?" she asked.


	9. Leanbow's Alive?

Udonna quickly got up and ran over to Leanbow, flinging herself into his arms. "I can't believe you're alive, Leanbow," she murmured happily.

"It's true—I did survive," he responded, pulling back to look into her eyes.

Imperious rolled his eyes at us and said, "Leanbow may have survived but Solaris Knight is gone."

I glared at him and Leanbow quickly countered Imperious's spell.

Then he chanted, "Uthay soseray," getting us out of the Underworld.

Chip raised his eyebrows and asked, "Let me see if I've got this straight. Leanbow was Koragg and Koragg was Leanbow and one of them or both of them just saved our lives?"

Leanbow nodded. Then I said, "You're basically our good-guy-turned-bad-turned-good-again."

Leanbow nodded and said, "I guess you could say that."

However, along with the other Rangers, I eyed Leanbow suspiciously. Udonna smiled and said, "I believe you. I know it's really you."

We all turned our attention back to Leanbow. He looked at me and asked, "What was with the comment about the duct tape and black body bags?"

"Get kidnapped enough times—by people who use duct tape and black body bags—and you'll get used to it and come to expect it," I answered, casually.

Udonna glanced at me and I mumbled, "It's complicated."

She nodded and said, "Later, I want the full story, OK, Maelynne?"

I nodded, sheepishly.

Then Udonna asked, "What happened after Niella sealed the gates?"

Leanbow began explaining what had happened to him. "After Niella sealed the gates, the fighting was very fierce. I eventually made it to the Master and, determined, not be entirely defeated, he turned me into Koragg, his most loyal soldier. I am so sorry for everything I've done. Can you possibly forgive me?"

Most of us—Nick, Chip, Xander, Vida, Madison, and I—all shook our heads.

Udonna nodded and forgave him. She stumbled suddenly and we all sprang to our feet. "What happened?" Leanbow demanded, steadying his wife.

"I used a spell from the Book of Dark Magic to rescue the rangers," she admitted.

He shook his head and said, "I'm going to have to send you back to Rootcore."

"No. I can't lose you again," she protested.

Nick nodded in agreement and Leanbow sent Udonna to Rootcore, where Clare immediately began attending to her.

The others swiftly morphed after Leanbow was captured by Necrolai.

Unable to morph, I darted in the sky and began flying around the Chimera—in an effort to distract it.

It worked, until some kind of wire netting fell on me. I sprang to my feet and began kicking and struggling to free myself.

I glared at the larger soldier. "Who are you?! Who are you working for?! What do you want?!" I demanded.

"I am Gozen. I work only for myself. I look forward to watching you die," he explained in a monotone.

I groaned and was soon reunited with the flock.


	10. Kidnapped Again How Do We Escape?

When the plane we'd been thrown on finally landed, everyone except for me and Angel—tried to fight back—Gozen had broken both Angel's arm and my arm.

When we were freed, we were in Miami in a tall building in a room with windows.

I immediately wondered if I could jump out one of them. Gozen quickly proved I couldn't.

I grimaced and we were all locked in the room. Nudge attempted to break the locks but was sent flying against the windows. I flew to her side and said, "Guys, I've got an idea."

They all gathered around me and I muttered a quick transportation spell under my breath. Nothing happened.

Max stared at me and I froze. "This is bad. This is really bad," I murmured.

Then we were given birdseed to eat and we all just started laughing hysterically and making a whole bunch of "bird" jokes.

Iggy also set my arm—somewhat and I tried not to fall on it.

Then we were taken to the "auction"—not that we'd do anything our new "owners" told us.

After Gazzy's episode—with his new power—we goofed off until we found a way out and escaped.


	11. Finding My Parents

I returned to where I'd left the other rangers—I'd managed to open a seal outside in the middle of the hurricane—and ended up spiraling into Nick, and we both were hit by Koragg's wolf attack.

I landed on my hurt arm and I heard it break again. I grimaced and fought back tears. It hurt—a lot.

Koragg walked toward us. "You have fought with honor, but now the battle is done. Since you both have been worthy opponents, I shall grant each of you a swift end," he intoned.

I looked nervously at the Wolf Knight as he raised his sword. "Leanbow! Stop!" Udonna yelled, running toward us. "Don't do it!"

We stared as she ran over and lowered his sword. "These are Bowen and Leila… Your children… Our children," she told the soldier.

"What?" he asked.

"What are you saying?" Nick asked.

I got up slowly, shaking my head back and forth. Koragg stepped toward us and tilting each of our heads up, asked, "My son? My daughter?"

Udonna nodded.

Leanbow came back again and walked over to us. "It's true. You two are twins. I am your mother," Udonna explained.

We nodded, shakily.

She continued as Leanbow watched our expressions. "I knew there was a reason you two came to Briarwood. It was to fulfill your destinies—the greatest wizards of them all," she told us.

My eyes widened as Nick said, "Well, it'll take some getting used to."

She smiled at us and I grinned back, unfolding my wings.

Leanbow's eyes widened and he murmured, "My daughter has wings."

I nodded and Udonna said, "Long story short, something happened after she was taken to the human world and she ended up with wings."

Then the ground started shaking and the Master started emerging.

Nick grabbed Mama's arm and pulled her back. I moved swiftly to help Nick.

Vida said, "Come on, Rangers!"

Everyone else tried to pull out their morphers, but Leanbow snapped, "No!"

We all froze and stared up at him. "This is my battle," he continued. "I must finish what I started."

He stepped forward and summoned his armor. "Ancient Mystic Mode," he called.

Smashing his shield against one of the snake-headed tentacles, he said, "Back to the depths, foul beast!"

"No!" Nick screamed.

"Daddy!" I yelled.

"You can't!" Vida yelled.

"Leanbow!" Mama screamed.

I trembled and screamed, "Daddy!"

"No!" Vida yelled, echoing Nick, who was silent and shocked.

"Leanbow! Don't!" Mama screamed again.

I heard Daddy call up to us. "Power Rangers! Carry on my legacy!"

I nodded tensely, holding back my own tears.

Mama stepped forward and stared, sadly at the spot where the Master had emerged. We all got our morphing powers back and Xander murmured, "Our Legend Warrior powers. They're back."

Mama murmured, "But Leanbow's gone."

Nick stepped forward to comfort her and she smiled weakly at him.

Then she noticed I was cradling my left arm against my chest. "Leila, you're hurt! What happened?" she asked, anxiously.

"I was captured by a freaky cyborgy- evil Yoda thing—named Gozen—who _likes_ killing and hurting people," I explained. "And he broke my arm. Then when I came back—I kinda crashed into Nick—sorry about that—I didn't break any ribs, did I?—and got caught in the middle of his fight and landed on my arm, rebreaking it after Iggy—the blind one—set it."

She nodded, and wrapped my old baby blanket around my arm. "Use this for now. When we get back to Briarwood, I'll have Nick take you to a hospital," she began.

I began shaking and murmured, "No, Mama. No hospital. Please. Just let me recover at Rootcore? I'll be fine by tomorrow."

"Mom's right, you should go to a hospital," Nick began.

I shook my head, shaking violently. She blinked and said, "It's OK. No hospital. I'll see if there is a basic healing spell Clare can use to help you, Leila."

I nodded, much preferring that plan to the idea of going to a hospital.


	12. Let's Go Home

Daggeron eventually returned and Udonna gasped in shock.

I smiled happily at our second mentor. Udonna asked, "But Imperious said you were dead. How?"

"You can't believe everything that Imperious says," Daggeron murmured.

Nick glanced at me and I asked, "Um, can we wrap up this reunion at Rootcore, please? No offense, but this doesn't exactly seem like the safest place in the world."

Udonna nodded in agreement and then I realized I was going to have to get on a train.

I froze. Everyone else—except for Udonna—quickly got on the train. She looked anxiously at me and asked, "Leila, what's wrong?"

"I may have forgotten to mention one teensy weensy very important detail," I admitted. "I'm kinda claustrophobic."

Everyone got off the train and stared at each other.

Nick shot a glance at me and Vida snapped, "Isn't that—I don't know—kind of important?!"

I glared at her and snapped, "Don't make me kick your butt from here into the next century."

Chip and Xander both glared at me as Nick moved closer to help cover my back.

"Rangers!" Daggeron ordered.

We all fell silent.

Udonna turned to me and offered, "Perhaps, if I sit with you? Would you feel better then?"

I cautiously nodded.

We all got on the train and returned to Rootcore. Madison, Vida, Chip, and Xander all returned to the Rock Porium, agreeing to tell Toby that Nick and I had some family business to take care of, which was true.


	13. Doctor Visit

After we returned to Rootcore, Nick—I couldn't think of him as my brother just yet—and Daggeron sat and talked about Daddy.

I wandered off to Dr. Martinez. Why could I forgive my real father but not my fake father? They'd both hurt me—in very similar ways.

Max soon saw me and noticed me cradling my arm again. "What did you do?" she demanded.

"I fell and broke it again," I answered. "Is your mom home?"

She nodded and Dr. Martinez quickly treated my injured arm.

I then disappeared and returned to Briarwood—I really didn't explain that I'd found my parents to the others, just yet, especially since Daddy was gone—again.

I slipped inside and saw Daggeron still talking to Nick.

I grinned and waved slightly, being careful not to use my left arm.

Nick grinned and Udonna came inside. She gave me a look I'd be familiar with when I'd been in the flock—wait am I talking being part of the flock as if it's in the past?—have I moved on or is it because I'm afraid of Max?—I'm not scared of Max, am I?—and I nodded.

She looked at Nick and said, "Bowen, didn't I ask you to clean up this room?"

Nick grinned sheepishly and said, "Great. I finally find my real mom and two seconds later I'm getting chores."

Daggeron quickly left the room.

I giggled at Nick's expression. Udonna murmured, "I want Rootcore to look presentable when your father comes home."

"He's not coming back," Nick murmured.

Udonna looked at both of us and then answered Nick, "I don't know how and I don't know when, but Leanbow will be coming home."

I nodded and then she said, "Leila, come with me."

I quickly followed my mother out of the room as Nick cleaned up the room.


	14. OK, Leila You Can Tell Me Later

Mama led me to her room and I quietly sat on the bed next to her. "Now, Leila, I want you to tell me the truth. What really happened when you entered the human world?" Mama asked.

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my hands over my ears, curling up into a little ball and started shaking. She rubbed my back gently and murmured, "It's all over. You're safe now. You're safe. I've got you."

I nodded, shakily. She nodded gently for me to begin my story. "I still have nightmares," I began slowly. "I just—I can't talk about it, Mama. I've buried as much as I could. I don't want to remember…"

Udonna wrapped her arms around me and said, "Leila, sometimes it helps to talk about these things."

I shakily nodded but still refused to tell her anything.

She nodded and murmured, "When you're ready to talk, I'll be ready to listen, Leila."

I smiled weakly up at her. I bit my lip—I had suffered the most at the School—the tests, the days and weeks and months and years of feeling sick and helpless and of wanting to either get out or die.

She studied my face cautiously, seeing me debate telling her. I buried my face in her shirt and began to cry. "It's that bad?" she asked, slowly.

I nodded. "When your father comes home, you can tell us then," she murmured, gently.

I nodded again, too scared to say anything. Then she said, "If you get a chance, go with one of the other rangers and buy a journal. Maybe writing about what happened will help you deal with the nightmares."

I grinned up at her and said, "Sure, Mama."

She smiled and said, "Now go help your brother clean up."

I nodded and scampered off, to help my brother finish cleaning.


	15. Living With Mama? Yes!

Nick glanced at me and asked, "What did Mom want?"

I shrugged—I wasn't really sure what to tell my older brother.

He nodded. Then Mom reentered the room and asked, "Are you two done cleaning?"

We both nodded and called, "Yes."

She smiled and motioned for both of us to follow her.

We quickly followed us into her room and she showed us our cradle and some of our toys, as well as old family pictures.

"Mama, is all of us?" I asked, motioning to one of the pictures. "You and Daddy and Bowen and Clare and Auntie Niella and me?"

She nodded.

Then she led each of us to two different rooms. "If you two want, you can live here," she offered.

I nodded and immediately said, "I'll live here."

She smiled and Nick said, "What about your life in the human world?"

"I need some stability—for a little while—Nick, and, maybe someday I'll go back—depending on if they'll let me—I can only taking so much constant running and fighting—it'd be nice to stay in one place for a long period of time for a change," I finished.

"What are you talking about?" Mama asked.

"The flock came—a few months back—and wondered if I'd found my parents yet, but the youngest, Angel—was trying to come up with a way to get rid of me—so I lied and told Max I wasn't coming back just yet and that I'd come back later, but I highly doubt it and since Angel's kidnapping last May, the flock has done nothing but move from place to place—no stability, constant running or fighting or flying," I quickly explained.

Mama frowned and Nick glared, murmuring, "No one threatens my little sister…"

I stomped on his foot and said, "Nick, she could beat you—easily—mind-reader, remember? And who are you calling little? I'm taller than you!" I stood up to my full height and Nick glared at me.

Then he frowned as he remembered that detail.

Mama asked, "Are you really that scared of her?"

I nodded and said, "Out of all the flock, Angel is the most unstable, untrustworthy, unpredictable, volatile, manipulative, and most dangerous member. I'm _amazed_ they haven't kicked her out considering how often she disappears."

Mama nodded silently and I quickly dropped my things off in my room. Nick grinned at me and said, "I might trade-off—spend some nights here and other nights at my sister's house."

We nodded in agreement and then went to town.


	16. Explanations, Journals, and Visions

The others all gathered around us and quickly learned that I would be staying permanently with Udonna and Clare at Rootcore, while Nick would alternate nights at Rootcore.

Everyone agreed that we had made the best decisions for ourselves. Of course, Madison asked, "What about your life in the human world?"

"I don't think I can take any more of the constant running, Maddie," I answered. "I've spent far too long wondering about my parents and now I've found them and Mama wants me to stay at Rootcore with her—it's more than I could ever wish for. It's the best thing that's happened to me since I met you guys."

The others nodded silently and then I asked, "Maddie, can I talk to you alone, for a second?"

She nodded and the others—Nick, Chip, Vida, and Xander—all returned to the store. "What is it?" she asked.

"I didn't tell Nick, but Mama wanted me to buy a journal—to help with the nightmares and I was wondering, would you go with me to help me pick one out?" I quickly explained.

She nodded and we picked out a purple journal that appeared to have our symbol on it.

Then Madison asked, "What sort of nightmares?"

"All sorts—being back at the School and escaping," I answered automatically, wanting to get off this topic—now or as soon as possible.

She nodded, quickly realizing that I didn't want to talk about it, yet, and I returned to Rootcore, carrying my new journal. Mama smiled when she saw I had taken her advice.

Then she frowned when she saw me freeze. "What is it, Leila?" she asked anxiously.

I frowned, concentrating on the image forming in my brain. "I think Max is in danger, _again_," I answered, slowly. "There's going to be an air show and someone is going to attempt to shoot her—to kill her!"

Mama nodded and asked, "Do you want to help her?"

I looked up at my mother and nodded, but then said, "But I don't know where the air show is! Or how to explain my sudden reappearance after I told her that I didn't think I would be coming back."

She nodded and said, "You can make sure they stay safe via the crystal ball. Then if you have to help them, cast a transportation spell to get yourself there."

I nodded in agreement.


	17. 1st Nightmare

That night, I began having nightmares again.

_I ran along the maze and begged, "Please, I can't go on forever like this." An unfamiliar hand flashed out and smacked into my cheek. I whimpered and mumbled, "Mama? Daddy? Where are you?" Jeb saw me and led me swiftly back to my crate. I curled up and retched violently. How long? I silently asked him. Soon, his eyes promised me. I nodded, and cried as a second whitecoat jammed another needle into my arm. I screamed as he ripped out the needle after they were done. I twisted away from the whitecoat when I saw it was Reilly. I hated him—more than the others. No one liked him here. Everyone wanted him gone and every time I sent him away, he was brought back. I didn't get it. I retched again and closed my eyes hoping for a few minutes of peace. _

I sat up and grabbed my new journal and immediately began writing.

**December 20, 2005, Entry 1**

**Mama had me buy this journal to help deal with my nightmares. Figures I'd have one the night after I get it. Here it is: I ran along the maze and begged, "Please, I can't go on forever like this." An unfamiliar hand flashed out and smacked into my cheek. I whimpered and mumbled, "Mama? Daddy? Where are you?" Jeb saw me and led me swiftly back to my crate. I curled up and retched violently. How long? I silently asked him. Soon, his eyes promised me. I nodded, and cried as a second whitecoat jammed another needle into my arm. I screamed as he ripped out the needle after they were done. I twisted away from the whitecoat when I saw it was Reilly. I hated him—more than the others. No one liked him here. Everyone wanted him gone and every time I sent him away, he was brought back. I didn't get it. I retched again and closed my eyes hoping for a few minutes of peace.**

Then I curled up and attempted to sleep again. I didn't think Mama would want me up at midnight.


	18. Day 1 of Living with Mama

The next morning, I climbed out of bed and, after swiftly dressing, padded downstairs.

Mama looked at me and I smiled. "Morning, Daggeron. Morning, Mama. Morning, Clare," I murmured.

Mama smiled and she and Clare said, "Morning, Leila."

Daggeron grinned and said, "Morning, Firefly."

I grinned and asked, "Where's Jenji?"

Jenji poked his head out of his lamp and said, "Morning, Firefly."

"Morning, Jenji," I grinned.

The genie grinned and Mama said, "Come and get breakfast, Leila."

I nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

She handed me and I swiftly piled some of everything on it. Her eyes widened and I murmured, "I can eat all of this, Mama. I'm a big eater."

She nodded and I sat down and quietly ate. Then I cleared my dishes and murmured, "I have to go to work."

Udonna nodded and said, "Be careful, Leila."

"I will," I promised. "Love you, Mama."

She smiled as I left and headed to town.

Clare murmured, "I think it's nice that Firefly decided to live with us."

Udonna nodded in agreement and Daggeron asked, "Weren't you going to look into a healing spell for Clare to use to heal her arm?"

Udonna nodded and then blinked. "Yes, why?" she asked.

"When she came back, her arm was bandaged—like someone _had_ treated it or gone to a doctor," Daggeron murmured. "Ask her about it."

Udonna nodded.


	19. Leila, Don't Pull That Stunt Again

After a few hours at work, Nick arrived and said, "Uh, sis, Mom wants to talk to you. I think you might be in trouble."

I looked sheepishly at him and said, "Kay. Cover the rest of my shift?"

He nodded agreeably and I returned to Rootcore. "Mama?" I asked, twirling my cape nervously.

"Leila, come here," she ordered sternly.

I nodded and obediently shuffled over to her side. "Didn't we agree that I'd look for a healing spell for Clare to use to heal your arm?" she asked.

I nodded and said, "Yes, Mama. But I'd forgotten about Dr. Martinez—she's the only person that we—the flock—let treat our injuries—and how quickly I heal. That's why it's an ordinary bandage—not a cast."

She nodded and said, "Alright, Leila, I'll let it slide _this_ time, but next time, tell me or ask my permission?"

I nodded, agreeably and said, "OK, Mama."

She smiled and said, "Now run along, Leila. And stay out of trouble!"


	20. Explaining to the Flock

I grinned and returned to town, where I saw Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel waiting for me. "You're keeping secrets," Max accused.

I backed away—I really didn't want to fight her. "Max…" I began, trying to buy time.

She glared at me and I glared back at her. "We _don't _keep secrets in the flock," she snapped. "Now you either tell us why you don't want us here in Briarwood or you're out of the flock."

I glared at her and said, "Look, I'd tell you, but I can't. There's a reason why it's called a _secret identity_."

Chip walked over and asked, "Would you tell anyone—outside of the present company?"

The flock looked at each other and shook their heads no. Then Nick nodded and said, "Tell them the truth."

I nodded and said, "Alright, I'm a Power Ranger…"

"The purple one, right?" Angel interrupted. "The power of light?"

I mock glared at her and then nodded. Then she pointed to Chip, Xander, Vida, Madison, and Nick. "He's the yellow one. He's the green one. She's the pink one, and she doesn't hate her color as much as she used to. She's the blue ranger and doesn't feel like she's contributing to the team too much. He's the red ranger, but his name is really Bowen and he's your brother and he's also the Light and destined to destroy the darkness."

I nodded and mouthed, "Mind-reader."

The others nodded and then Angel frowned. "You did find your parents!" she accused.

I shrugged and said, "Yeah, I did, but if you want to get technical, they found me and Daddy's gone—again and I don't think Mama is ready for me to have friends over just yet. Plus I want to wait until Daddy's home so you can meet both."

"And you have a cousin?" Angel asked, uncertainly.

Nick and I exchanged a glance and carefully nodded, keeping a guarded expression.

"Who's the Gatekeeper?" Angel asked, pressing for more information.

"The Gatekeeper was a powerful sorceress named Niella," Nick began. "She was my aunt. During the final battle of the Great Battle—it was more of a war, actually—Dad ordered her to stay back and seal the gate with a spell. The spell used was so powerful that it drained her life force. When the gate was lowered back into the depths, Niella was gone. She did have a child, a daughter. Niella's daughter and the heir to the Gatekeeper's power is Clare, our cousin."

Max and the others nodded and I cautiously murmured, "I've told the other rangers and Mama and Daggeron and my cousin, Clare—her mother, Niella, was Mama's older sister—about the School."

Max glared at me and snarled, "You _told _someone?!"

"You nearly told your mother—before you _knew_ she was your mother!" I accused. "How is what I did any different? Besides, I only told what related to me! And I refuse to keep secrets from Mama!"

Max lunged and I dodged quickly. I looked at the others and murmured, "I should probably run, shouldn't I?"

They nodded and I took off, Max swiftly following me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and thought, _Get somewhere safe. Get somewhere safe._

Mama blinked and asked, "Back already, Leila?"

I opened my eyes and asked, "How did I get here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Daggeron answered.

"I wanna do that," Clare whined.

I laughed and looked up at the others. "I think I just got a new skill," I grinned. "Teleportation. Sweet."

Daggeron, Clare, and Udonna all nodded as Jenji, noticing the crystal ball, stated, "What's with the girl flying around Briarwood? Is it a senior vampire? She doesn't look too happy."

"No, it's Maximum Ride, and she's not too thrilled that I told," I answered automatically. "I can't outfly her—she'd just have to kick in hyperspeed and she'd catch me."

"Talk to her," Mama ordered.

I nodded and said, "OK, Mama."

I soon found Max scowling in the park. "Max, let's be reasonable and not go charging off," I began.

"I do not 'go charging off'!" Max protested.

I laughed and said, "Yes, you do."

"No, I don't," she insisted.

"Fine," I crossed my arms over my chest. "Name one time you've _completely_ thought one of your plans through," I challenged.

"Um…Uh…Hmm…I…Uh…When…" Max struggled to come up with an answer.

"I believe my point stands unchallenged—you do _go charging off_," I finished smirking.

She glared at me and I said, "I know you're mad I told, but Mama was going to want to meet my 'mythical nice family' and you know as well as I that it is theoretically impossible unless you guys decide to settle down long enough to meet my family or come back in…"

I closed my eyes and focused on trying to figure out when Daddy would return. "Two months?" I asked. "But to be more precise, nine weeks—on the dot."

Max nodded agreeably.


	21. Bonding With My Brother

The flock again left town and Nick found me sitting silently under the tree. "Why do you always tell them to leave?" he asked. "We _could_ protect them."

"First, Max would beat the living daylights out of you for saying that—she _doesn't_ need anyone to protect her—second, it's going to be dangerous enough for the two of us—remember? The darkness tried to destroy us nineteen years ago and they'll probably try again now that Mama's identified us as her kids—anywhere Max goes, I swear danger follows her—she's practically a danger magnet—don't tell her I said that—and third, Max is supposed to save the world," I explained.

"I thought that was our job," Nick frowned.

"We're supposed to stop the darkness," I clarified. "Max has to stop Itex and companies like that—because they're destroying the world."

"Was Itex that company that wanted to wipe out half the world's population?" Nick asked. "I read about it on a blog once."

I nodded silently. Then realizing something pretty important—something that could have cost us our father—I asked, "Do you remember that list of what was important and what was unimportant?"

He nodded and then he stared at me. "Oh no! Dad!" he gasped as he caught up to what I'd been thinking—what I'd just realized. Leanbow would be forced to either join the Director's army and help slaughter millions of helpless people or die.

"Max _did_ stop Itex, right?" he asked nervously.

I nodded and said, "Yeah, I was there. Daddy isn't in danger from them anymore."

He grinned and said, "Remind to thank Max when she comes back."

"Sure, Nick," I elbowed him playfully.

He rolled his eyes and then I said, "Look, Nick. I'm not sure how to tell Mama and Daddy what happened at the School."

He shrugged and said, "I'm sure you'll think of something."

I nodded in agreement.

Then he said, "Come on. Let's get back to work before Toby thinks we're slacking."

I nodded and we hurried back into the store.


	22. Author's Note

**_A/N. Hey guys, thanks for all the votes so far. We're halfway done. Just 50 more votes and you'll learn who gets sacrificed to Max's wrath. So be sure to vote.  
_**


End file.
